Get to know “Sports Betting Laws And Regulations In The USA 2022” After a decision of the Supreme Court in May 2018, the sports betting legalization climate in the US has been very dynamic. The ruling in question struck down a federal law that previously impeded most states from authorizing sports wagering within their territories. Immediately after this groundbreaking change, local authorities began their preparation to legalize the industry and the first permits followed.
Today, three years later, nearly 80% of the US states have either gone through the whole process or at least introduced the respective legislation proposals. The latest sports betting laws and regulations in the US are the ones adopted by New York, Kansas, and Massachusetts.
Sports Betting Laws And Regulations In The USA 2022
New York
In 2022, the city that never sleeps and its state were the first to give green light to wagering on sports. In January, the state Gaming Commission began by granting four mobile sports betting operators approvals to introduce their services in the State of New York. The first to meet the new legislative requirements were DraftKings Sportsbook, FanDuel, Caesars Sportsbook, and BetRivers.
The largest American state by area was until recently considered one of the fiercest opponents of the legalization of wagering on sports events. Today, however, it is moving rapidly in exactly the opposite direction. Why? We would not surprise anyone by saying that the main reason is… money. Thanks to plenty of off-shore gambling platforms, this industry sector is booming but without a single cent going to the state treasury.
To stop the occurrence of lost profits in particularly large amounts, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo entered a mobile-betting provision in the state’s billion-dollar spending plan. From today’s point of view, we can say that this move by the US Democratic Party member is about to bring significant takings to the local budget since the NY tax on the gross revenues of mobile bookmakers is as high as 51%.
Kansas
New York’s example was followed by Kansas in May 2022, when Senate Bill 84 was signed into law by Governor Laura Kelly. According to the new regulations, Kansas citizens will be authorized to place in-person and mobile bets as of September 1st with the process being monitored by the state Lottery. The date was not randomly chosen. Just a week later the regular season of the NFL begins, which is one of the most watched and wagered sports events in the world. The four casinos initially permitted to accept sports wagers are Boot Hill Casino, Kansas Star Casino, Hollywood Casino, and Kansas Crossing Casino & Hotel.
Until May 2022, online sports betting in Kansas was widely accessible to anyone with basic technical knowledge without the risk of being sanctioned by law. The newly adopted US regulation and legit sites are expected to draw a huge boost to the local economy although Kansas lawmakers are far more modest than their counterparts in New York when it comes to taxes. The imposed percentage is 10% with most of the revenue going to a special fund whose purpose will be to attract professional sports teams to the state.
Massachusetts
The newest member of the group of states where sports betting is now completely legal is Massachusetts. Just a few days ago, on August 10, 2022, Governor Charlie Baker signed House Bill 5164 into law, finally legalizing wagering on sports in the state. So far, there is no announced date when the first licenses will be issued, but this is unlikely to happen in the next five months. Currently, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission is working on the respective rules and regulations.
Among the things we already know is the minimum legal age to perform any form of legalized sports betting – 21 years. Despite the loosening of the legislative framework, betting on high school and youth sports remains illegal while that on state college teams is only allowed if they are competing in a tournament. As regards taxes, the law imposes charging of the overall monthly revenue of betting operators. Numbers are expected to be 15% on revenue from in-person wagering and 20% from mobile bets.
A few more states have tried to bring their legislation in line with the new trends, but so far without much success. North Carolina appears to be the state closest to legalizing sports betting. Senate Bill 688 successfully passed several House committees but failed by one vote only on the House floor in June 2022. The National Council on Problem Gambling is expected to support the motion if the bill is introduced again next year.
